Human Resource Practices in Hotels: A Study from the Tourist State of Uttrakhand, India

Human Resource Management, an integral part of an organization, often ensures the success of the shared relationship between employees and an organization by identifying and satisfying the needs of the employees beginning with recruitment and continuing throughout their career. This article aims to analyze the Human Resource practices in hotels in the mountainous state of Uttarakhand, India located in the Himalayas. This particular geographic location of India offers human resource challenges that are unique to this popular tourist destination. Results from this study show that employees are satisfied with their compensation packages but not with the working conditions, and the employee turnover rate is relatively high. Adequate training is not often provided by the hoteliers to develop employees' operational skills. Recruitment is mainly through internal referrals leading to high inbreeding and subsequent other human resource problems. There is a significant gap between what is expected from new employees and the skill levels of available talent pool.